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Big Problems, Big Speech; Inside the Hate

Aired February 25, 2009 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Soledad.

And you can join Soledad tonight. In honor of Black History Month, CNN will air an encore presentation from our groundbreaking series "Black in America." That's tonight and tomorrow at 8:00 Eastern, only on CNN.

And that does it for us. We will see you back here tomorrow. Rick Sanchez takes it from here.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez.

President Obama is going to come out and speak during this hour. You will see it live. As it happens. And here's what else we're going to have for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hate is here in Arizona. It's here. Nothing we can do about it. And the immigration issue is just fuel in that fire.

SANCHEZ (voice-over): On the Arizona border with Mexico, nativist rhetoric has grown a hate movement seemingly overnight. You will hear from an agent who infiltrated them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of a sudden, the plane dropped out of the air.

SANCHEZ: How can a plane crash, look like this, and have more than 100 people walk away? We're there.

GOV. BOBBY JINDAL (R), LOUISIANA: Eight billion for high-speed rail projects, such as a magnetic levitation line from Las Vegas to Disneyland.

SANCHEZ: There is no train to Disneyland, again, no train to Disneyland. Then, why does Bobby Jindal keep saying it?

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My job, our job is to solve the problem.

SANCHEZ: How did the president do last night? The American people respond. And we have the brand-new polls.

Your input, our daily national conversation includes you, and begins right now. (END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: OK. Here we go. This is our daily national conversation.

And today, the president of the United States is going to be joining the conversation. We expect him to come out to speak probably within the next 40 to 45 minutes. And, obviously, as soon as that happens, we're going to let you hear what the president has to say.

In the meantime, he gave his big speech last night. Many people referred to it as a State of the Union speech, although officially it was not. How did the American people respond?

Those who watched the speech, what did they see in it? What do they now think of him? What do they think of his plans? We have got some graphics I want you to take a look at.

Let's start with this one. This is a poll where people were asked if they're more optimistic now, after watching the president's speech. Did Obama's speech make you feel more optimistic? Interesting numbers -- 85 percent say more optimistic -- 11 percent say less -- more pessimistic.

Let's take a look at this one now. Has your support of the economic plan as outlined by Barack Obama tonight changed your popularity for him? Support, 82 percent, opposition, 17 percent. These are pretty good numbers so far.

I want to show you another one now. This one says -- asks, if the country -- after listening to the speech last night, do you feel now that the country is moving in the right direction? Prior to the speech, Mr. Obama's number on that question, by polls, was generally 71 percent. After the speech, when the people were asked that same question again, their answer was 88 percent -- 88 percent of them said that it's moving in the country in the right direction, interesting numbers.

Let's bring in Patricia Murphy from CitizenJanePolitics.com. And let's also bring in Wayne Slater from "The Dallas Morning News."

Thanks to both of you for being with us.

PATRICIA MURPHY, EDITOR, CITIZENJANEPOLITICS.COM: Hey, Rick.

SANCHEZ: What do you think of those numbers?

WAYNE SLATER, COLUMNIST, "THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS": Good to be here.

SANCHEZ: What do you think of those numbers?

Wayne, let me start with you.

SLATER: Those are amazing numbers. And, really, I think they go to the heart of the success of what Barack Obama had to do in the last couple of weeks, especially last night.

And that was not offer a bunch of green eyeshade details and widgets, but offer up a sense of optimism that: I can handle what's going on. We're going to get out of this thing alive.

SANCHEZ: He is saying, Murph, he is saying, and he said it last night, that we have got, as a nation, to change our ways, that we haven't been acting right. And he said it in an all-inclusive way.

But many would argue -- and I want you to listen to him here. Let me pick this one snippet where he talks about this. It almost sounds to me like he's taking a shot at the GOP when he says this. Let's go ahead and let's run that, Dan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: The fact is, our economy did not fall into decline overnight. Nor did all of our problems begin when the housing market collapsed or the stock market sank.

In other words, we have lived through an era where too often short-term gains were prized over long-term prosperity, where we failed to look beyond the next payment, the next quarter, or the next election.

A surplus became an excuse to transfer wealth to the wealthy instead of an opportunity to invest in our future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: It may not be a hammer, but maybe a velvet glove. Who's he talking about, Murph?

MURPHY: Well, he's absolutely talking about George Bush. He's certainly talking about the Republicans in Congress.

But it's important to remember, too, that the Democrats were in Congress, too. They were there in those committee hearings and casting those votes. And his biggest problem going forward is going to be to make the Democrats in Congress come along with him. They have a lot of pent-up goals they want. They have a lot of spending that they want.

It's going to be his job to tamp that down and make them come along with him. It's a huge challenge. And we will see that with his budget tomorrow in the appropriations process going forward.

SANCHEZ: You know what's challenging about this? You know what's challenging about this as well, Wayne? You know what's challenging? He's got to somehow help the banks while knowing that nobody in this country wants to help those SOBs, that they don't care about it, that they're angry at the president for helping the guys on Wall Street and helping the banks. He addressed that last night.

Let's take a listen to it. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Now, I understand that when the last administration asked this Congress to provide assistance for struggling banks, Democrats and Republicans alike were infuriated by the mismanagement and the results that followed. So were the American taxpayers; so was I.

So I know how unpopular it is to be seen as helping banks right now, especially when everyone is suffering in part from their bad decisions. I promise you, I get it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: "I promise you, I get it."

Wayne, did he -- how is he doing with that one?

SLATER: That's a tough one.

This whole thing, the entire argument, is this balancing act. On the one hand, he has to -- his economic advisers say, you're going to have to do something to free up the clogged credit market. You are going to have to do something for these banks.

And none of us back here in Texas, the folks I talk to, are very sympathetic about these banks. On the one hand, he has to be someone who recognizes and tells the American people, this is bad and it's going to stay bad for awhile. On the other hand, have confidence in me that I can make this better and that we will emerge.

It's a very, very difficult balancing act. I think the sense, and I think part of his success is his composure, the sense that, as you watch him, unless you're really a strong Republican critic, you have some confidence that, I think, I believe he can do it. Or perhaps we're only thinking that we believe we have to believe.

SANCHEZ: Well, let's talk about what Americans are talking about on their dinner tables when they hear this. We can't get into the real microeconomic stuff. But I understand the difference between some who just want to sit back and let the problem happen, and then let it fix itself, as some say is supposed to happen in an economy like ours, in a capitalistic system.

I mean, it's laissez-faire vs. Keynesian economics. And he addressed that last night. And he's saying he's going with the Keynesian economists. He's going with people who say we have got to do something.

Let's listen to that, Murph.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I reject the view that says our problems will simply take care of themselves, that says government has no role in laying the foundation for our common prosperity, for history tells a different story. History reminds us that, at every moment of economic upheaval and transformation, this nation has responded with bold action and big ideas.

In the midst of civil war, we laid railroad tracks from one coast to another that spurred commerce and industry.

From the turmoil of the Industrial Revolution came a system of public high schools that prepared our citizens for a new age.

In the wake of war and depression, the G.I. Bill sent a generation to college and created the largest middle-class in history.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

And a twilight struggle for freedom led to a nation of highways, an American on the moon, and an explosion of technology that still shapes our world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: You know, for my money, watching last night, that may have been his finest moment in that speech, not because he convinced me or anybody else one way or another, but because he was adept at taking a current problem -- Am I wrong? -- a current problem and putting it in historical terms, so that people at home can understand it?

Murph?

MURPHY: Yes, well, I think that's exactly right.

And he's also saying that history is his guide. He is showing that the approach that he's going to take is just like the approaches that have worked in the past. And what he really needs to do here, also, is to lift the American people's confidence.

He said his job is to make the solution -- to make these solutions work. He needs to make people believe that it's going to work, too. And that's really what that speech was doing last night.

SANCHEZ: Hey, you know, Wayne, let me show you something. There's something interesting. And in television, we have got a thing called cutaways. A cutaway is when you go away from the speech, go away from the president and show people watching the speech.

And we watched last night, and I asked Johnny, our editor, to put something together. OK, there's the Democrats. You see that there's a difference. All right, there's the Republicans, back to the president. And now you're going to see some of the Republicans. Look at Boehner. Look at McConnell.

What's going on here, Wayne?

SANCHEZ: Well, I think there's this interesting element within the Republican Party. They know that they can't be the party of no, that that hasn't worked very well, the party, as your friend Rush Limbaugh said, the party that says, I hope he fails.

So, they have to offer up some kind of more optimistic or different version. And I think there's a key to this. I heard a couple of FOX commentators make the same remark almost as an offhanded remark that I think is reflective of what some members in the Republican Congress feel.

And that's that if in fact things get better in the near future, next year or two, they have begun to say, we won't know why, what actually did it. In other words, they're laying the predicate to say that, yes, yes, yes, stuff may get better, but, you know, it may not be because of all these things that we were against, which ultimately worked.

SANCHEZ: In fairness to them, it's a tough situation that they have been put in. I mean, it really is. You're coming off a very unpopular president, who many Republicans say they're not happy with his performance, vis-a-vis a very popular president now, who seems to be dealing with the difficult problem that we're all in.

So, that's not a good situation for them.

By the way, my thanks to both of you, great, great conversation.

And let me do something before we go to the break, Dan. Some folks who have been listening to these conversations, they want to share with us what they're saying and thinking as well.

"President Obama's speech last night gets a rating 10 out of 10." That's Donna.

And Erika says, "Seriously, Rick, you need a two-hour show."

Well, there we go ahead. Where is that coming from?

Thank you very much, nonetheless, Erika. We appreciate all comments.

OK. Here we go. Here's what else we have got coming your way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JINDAL: Eight billion for high-speed rail projects, such as a magnetic levitation line from Las Vegas to Disneyland.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: There it is. It's the situation that we have been following for you that has to do with Bobby Jindal. He spoke last night. Was he oversold? Wasn't he supposed to be the smart one? Not my words, by the way. That's what a well-known Republican is asking today about Bobby Jindal on the record. We will tell you who that is.

Also, this. You're stranded in the middle of this deluge. What do you do? Will anyone come to your rescue? The harrowing conclusion is coming up next. And this: a double agent, one as a husband, father and police officer, another as a skinhead. I'm telling you, I stayed up until 1:00 yesterday to watch this story. This is one you really do not want to miss.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE VIEW")

WHOOPI GOLDBERG, ACTRESS: Why do they jump up ever four seconds and go...

(APPLAUSE)

GOLDBERG: I hate it. Why can't -- that speech...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, look at Joe Biden. Joe Biden...

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... looks like, oh, damn, I got to get up again.

(LAUGHTER)

GOLDBERG: That speech would have been 12 minutes long.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez here at the world headquarters of CNN.

The president of the United States is going to come out to speak in a little while. And we're going to be carrying that for you. We're expecting that to happen now in probably between 25 minutes to a half-hour.

Again, you will see it here.

Bobby Jindal, governor of Louisiana, chosen last night to give the Republican response, but, so far, he hasn't exactly been getting accolades from members of his own party.

Let me read you a couple of those. This is from David Brooks, conservative columnist, heralded conservative columnist, for "The New York Times." Here's what he has to say about Bobby Jindal.

"It's just a disaster for the Republican Party. In a moment when only the federal government is actually big enough to do stuff, to say government is the problem, it's just a form of nihilism."

Let's go to another one now, Andrew Sullivan, noted conservative, Republican. "This guy is supposed to be the smart one?" he asks?

Let me bring back Wayne Slater from "The Dallas Morning News." You know, as we go through this, and I, like a lot of people, went in this thinking, wow, Bobby Jindal is a guy who's really on the ball. And we did a whole segment yesterday on the different types of Republicans who are out there as they go through this situation they're going through.

And then there was that speech last night. There's one particular thing that he said that I thought was -- well, let's take a listen to it. Dan, this is that first cut, when he talks about Disneyland.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JINDAL: While some of the projects in the bill make sense, their legislation is larded with wasteful spending. It includes $300 million to buy new cars for the government, $8 billion for high-speed rail projects, such as a magnetic levitation line from Las Vegas to Disneyland, and $140 million for something called volcano monitoring.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: A magnetic levitation line from Las Vegas to Disneyland.

For starters, there's no such thing. It's nowhere on the report. So, it's not true. I mean, shouldn't somebody on his staff have said, Governor, you have been saying that for a week now; they're criticizing you; be careful? Tone-deaf ear? What is that?

SLATER: Yes, I mean, here you are calling him out, Rick, and you're right.

Even the stuff that is arguably true and is part of the package, this was like amazing. This was like watching "Bonanza," and then all of a sudden you're looking at "Leave It to Beaver." The people on his staff should be guilty of political malpractice.

He looked bad. He looked like a little kid who had gotten in his dad's car, looking over the steering wheel, and did not know how to drive.

And you're right. Jindal is a very, very impressive person. But we didn't see that last night. And the Republicans really squandered an opportunity to offer up a fresh, very bright face in a way that he was clearly not ready for prime time.

SANCHEZ: Well, some might argue he actually hurt them.

Take a look at this one. This is a MySpace that is coming into us right now. We're following MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter.

"Very disappointed with Jindal. I was expecting some fire, something interesting, some rebuttal to Obama's speech. Terrible, just terrible."

And there was this line when he talked about what Republicans did wrong over the last seven or eight years. But look at the word he uses. Let's play that, Dan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JINDAL: You elected Republicans to champion limited government, fiscal discipline, and personal responsibility.

Instead, Republicans went along with earmarks and big government spending in Washington. Republicans lost your trust, and rightly so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: He says, Republicans went along with big spending. Who was in charge those last eight years, the Whigs? Wasn't it...

(CROSSTALK)

SLATER: Obviously, Republicans were in charge most of that period.

SANCHEZ: So, how can you go along with what you're doing?

SLATER: And you can't. And I think that's really -- I hear that on talk radio and among some of the Republican critics, who basically offered themselves up as the biggest victim, saying it's all the Democrats' fault.

And let me tell you, as you know, and I think Murph said earlier, in the earlier segment, Democrats have a lot to be -- a lot part of the responsibility. But this business of just blaming the other guy was not the message that Americans want to hear.

Obama was talking about America. Jindal last night was talking about "our party," the Republican Party. And even though it was a Republican rebuttal, it was so staged and so stale even by the time he gave it, and as -- look at the talking points.

Remember, near the end of his speech, he said something about, there are people in Washington, there are all these people, meaning Barack Obama and company, who say that we can -- maybe we cannot even come out of this problem.

(CROSSTALK)

SLATER: This was a few minutes after Barack Obama said, we're going to come out of this problem.

SANCHEZ: Yes. It's almost like they didn't get a chance to read the speech.

SLATER: Right.

SANCHEZ: And I can't help but wonder if it was hard for these -- for this guy -- look, this guy's like an Ivy Leaguer. He's smart. He's a numbers guy. I'm not necessarily convinced he's a performer.

And that may have hurt him last night. And somebody probably should have recognized that and helped him, although I have got to tell you, the Dems have not been any better. If you watched over the last eight years, the responses when a president speaks is always pretty dismal. This is tough stuff to do, isn't it?

SLATER: Yes, it is.

And -- but you're exactly right. Very often, the other side looks wooden. They're not as accomplished. And, poor Jindal, again, I repeat, he is a very impressive person. I have spent time around him and watched him during the last campaign year. But poor Jindal has to follow, you know, a Babe Ruth out there.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

SLATER: It's a real, real problem.

SANCHEZ: Wayne Slater, "Dallas Morning News," author of "Bush's Brain," we thank you, sir, for talking to us again.

SLATER: Great to be with you.

SANCHEZ: When was the last time that you heard of the Coast Guard being called out to rescue a surfer? Hang 10? The beach is that way. Oh, well.

The governor of Texas wants women to look at their own sonogram before they have an abortion. He wants to make that a law. What if a woman doesn't look? What if she chooses not to? We will ask. That's next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW": While Obama faces many challenges, he himself still presents a great challenge to the Republican Party. How will they be able to counter his unique popularity and message of change?

Well, perhaps they will do it with their new selection for GOP chairman, Michael Steele, former Maryland lieutenant governor and perpetually dissatisfied customer at Grover's restaurant.

(LAUGHTER)

STEWART: Seriously, Grover.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez here in the world headquarters of CNN.

One of our viewers has determined what really went wrong with Bobby Jindal last night, according to this viewer and some of the Republicans who Have said so. Let's go to that.

It's on our Twitter board. It's Nardo right in the middle, who is watching right now, who said: "That was not Jindal. Didn't anyone see the springs" -- or the strings -- pardon me -- "coming off his shoulders and arms? And someone off-camera was speaking."

Interesting take.

Something else to take note of now, and it's one of my favorite things to talk about. It's about smashing this piece of glass that separates you and me. Every time you, the TV news viewer, can reach news organizations directly and reach the world directly, I get personally very excited about it.

And it's the first and very important reason that I keep this show as interactive as possible, where you have input. You help us decide how to fill this hour. And, sometimes, you actually do our jobs for us. It happened just today.

Take a look at this. You see this? A commercial airliner crashed this morning in the Netherlands. This is a horrible scene, no doubt. A Boeing 737 broke into pieces, and at least nine people died. But you know how we learned about this? These pictures and the first details came from Twitter users, people who saw the plane go down. They broke the story. They took the first images, people on Twitter. They described the scene and the tragedy in Amsterdam.

These were not professional journalists, but people like you, who use the Web and their followers to spread the word.

By the way, I mentioned that nine people in this horrible crash died. Well, get this: 125 people survived, survived, walked away. That is nothing short of impossible to believe after seeing this unbelievable wreckage. Take a look at that.

The Turkish Airlines jet crashed into a field short of the runway in Amsterdam, and police say that at least three crew members are among the dead. This was no landing on the Hudson, but it was no Buffalo tragedy either.

Now, we're sad for those killed, no doubt, but we're also amazed that so many others were able to walk away. And you can see the pictures on my blog that we have put together there at CNN.com/Rick Sanchez. Or you could also check them out at ireport.com.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It leader, Jerry Harbin (ph), wants to join forces with Unit 88, whose members include hardened criminals looking for trouble.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: It is hard not to take this one personal, what the heated rhetoric has caused neo-Nazis to do to Hispanic immigrants on the border. I'm going to talk to the agent who infiltrated their organization, saw it firsthand. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: A lot of comments, we're going to checking on them in a little bit throughout the show.

Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez here in the world headquarters of CNN.

The anti-undocumented immigrant fervor that has been seen in this country over last couple of years has sown or fueled a resentment that has increased membership in hate groups, in neo-Nazi groups, in skinhead organizations. And we have known that in the past, but now it is documented as such in a place called Investigation Discovery. It's a documentary that aired last night and will again.

Watch this clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "INVESTIGATION DISCOVERY")

DET. MATT BROWNING, MESA POLICE, UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATION DISCOVERY: We were shopping. We had the kids with us and we had our cart full of food. And I looked toward the front door of the store and in came five of the Klansmen that I was undercover with.

You need to take the kids and go.

And so I told my wife, hey, you need to go. And she probably forgot our conversations, but she didn't want to. You know, it was a night out with the kids and so we wanted to stay as a family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But Browning has no choice. He has to get away from them.

BROWNING: So finally I gave her the cart and I just walked a different way.

Did the Klan see them?

I hope not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Browning takes mental note of the skinheads' tattoos. Many flash the numbers 14 and 88.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The 14 stands for the 14 words for the skinhead movement, which is: "We must secure the existence of our people and a future core of white children."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 88 stands for the 88th precepts or laws skins are supposed to live by. It also stands for the eighth letter of the alphabet, which is H. Two Hs -- Heil Hitler.

If Browning can remember a specific tattoo, he can later identify the skinhead, which may help with future criminal investigations.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SANCHEZ: Absolutely chilling to watch that develop -- to see a man literally live a second life. And that man, that police officer from Mesa, Arizona, is good enough to join us. He's one of the few who's actually ever broken this code.

Thanks so much for being with us.

We certainly appreciate it, Mr. Matt Browning.

How are you?

BROWNING: Good, thanks.

SANCHEZ: There was a scene in there where you see them actually going after Hispanic immigrants.

Who were they going after?

And why were they going after them?

What fueled them?

BROWNING: It's the -- well, that's a good question. It's a hatred, number one. They hate the people that come here. If you're not white, then, in their view, in their philosophy, if you're not white and you don't have a reason to support their cause, then they don't want you here. They're going after the immigrants who are undocumented. In the segment last night, I talked about hunting trips where they go around. They'll just look for a group of -- whether they're immigrants or Hispanics or whatever they might be -- and just out of their own hatred for non-whites, they jump out of their cars and...

SANCHEZ: Beat them with clubs and sticks.

BROWNING: Brutally.

SANCHEZ: Is this more prevalent now, since the rhetoric got real heated over the last year-and-a-half or so?

BROWNING: You know, believe it or not, this stuff has been going on for quite awhile now. And it's just not in Arizona. It's happening in various states throughout the nation. The links that these people have with each other are so -- so tight -- you know, I could have a skinhead in Mesa, Arizona real close to a skin in Tampa, Florida. And they could be traveling back and forth and committing their crimes in different states.

SANCHEZ: That scene in the supermarket where you told your wife and your kids, I've got to get out of here or I'm just going to walk away and you had some kind of code with her, but it didn't seem to work, because she was looking at you like you were crazy and she didn't know what you had just seen, man...

BROWNING: Yes.

SANCHEZ: You lived that for how long?

BROWNING: I worked skin -- I continue to work skinheads now. But I worked skinheads and that matter for 10 plus years -- 10 to 12 years.

SANCHEZ: Do you think -- I'm just thinking about this, since we do so much political coverage on this hour.

Do you think that having a black president of the United States will nullify these folks or exacerbate their actions and their hate?

BROWNING: Well, I definitely don't want to put the word out there to anybody to -- we have a president and we need to support him. But he has his Secret Service staff who are guarding him like they should. This is definitely going to cause some more fire in the minds and in the hearts of these people.

And it's not really the organizations of the skinheads, you have a lot of lone wolves out there who just sit in their house and they make bombs. They have extensive amount of firearms, legal and illegal.

And the things that they just -- that motivates them, number one, he's a black president. And they just, you know, in their views, you know, the blacks are just as bad as the Jews and the Mexicans.

SANCHEZ: So it's just going to make them even angrier. Here's what somebody is...

BROWNING: Oh, yes.

SANCHEZ: Here's what somebody is commenting on as they're watching -- listening to our conversation. Tymarie is watching. He says: "Neo-Nazis, the First Amendment gives them the right to free speech. They do not have the right to force, though, their ideology on people by threat of life and liberty. Matt Browning" -- he's talking about you -- "is a national hero."

It's interesting, because when I watched your story last night, I felt the same way. And it's hard to watch what you've done without feeling that way. And yet -- and yet, toward the end, it sounds like there was a sour ending in all of this for you.

BROWNING: No.

SANCHEZ: What happened there?

BROWNING: There's no sour ending anywhere. Like I said, I continue to work these guys -- I -- in the best ability that I can.

SANCHEZ: Did you get heat, though?

Let me just be more direct.

Were you getting some heat from people in Arizona for going after these guys or for maybe saying something that may have cast them in a light that people didn't want to be cast as? Are people afraid to look at themselves?

BROWNING: You know, there -- I -- there's people who don't like me, let me put it that way. I did my job. I was paid to do a job and I did my job to the best of my ability. I continue to do my job now.

If they don't -- if they don't like whatever heat came on them, well, maybe they should look at themselves and get out of breaking the law or associating with organizations or where it's OK to go beat up a Hispanic or black or Jew just because they'd rather spit at somebody because they're not the same color as themselves.

SANCHEZ: I'll tell you, man, you're a brave guy. I watched that -- and I think anybody else who watches it, as well -- on Investigation Discovery will come up with the same conclusion, save, perhaps, a few who don't share our opinion about people different from them.

Matt, thanks for being with us, sir.

BROWNING: You bet.

(VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Stranded with water rushing all around them -- a harrowing rescue attempt and we have got it for you. That's next.

Also, we're expecting the president to speak at any moment now. More details on his economic rescue. That's ahead. There's the podium. It's set up and ready to go. He could come out at any minute.

If it happens while we're in a commercial, we'll dump out of the commercial, come back, dip in and you'll see it as it happens.

Stay with us.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: All right, there's the podium again. The president coming to speak once again, live. And we're now told it's a few minutes away. So as soon as it happens, we're going to dip into it.

Also, let me address your attention, if I could, to so many of you who have been commenting on that interview that we just did.

Just during the break, we've gotten 20 or so quick responses. "Oh, my God" -- ORATA at the top. She's watching. She says: "Oh and gee. Oh my god. How scary is that, to go grocery shopping with your family and have to flee for your life? This needs to stop."

We'll do what we can.

Meanwhile, I want to show you something else now -- some wild videos that we've been getting in. Let's start with this one. This is people scared and in trouble. Suddenly, someone comes to their rescue. But look what they had to go through.

Let's crank the sound up on this, Otis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold on. (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll be there very quickly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: And there you go. It's amazing. It was Camp Verde, Arizona where this happened. We wanted you to actually see the rescue as it happened. And, by the way, it was melting snow that suddenly turned a small creek into a torrent. People there nearly swept away -- two of them trying to cross in an all terrain vehicle. They held onto a tree for more than two hours before rescuers were finally able to get there and pluck them to safety.

By the way, let's check back in with that podium shot once again, to see what's going on with the president. We're going to be watching -- there you can see some -- one of the reporters or somebody -- one of the officials there. We're starting to see some movement. The president is going to be coming out in just a moment.

Let's do this. Let's go ahead and hit the brake. And hopefully, when we come back, we'll have the president speaking once again. It's supposed to happen.

Also, let me tell you about something else -- a proposed law in Texas says a woman must see or be shown a sonogram of her child before having an abortion. And now the governor says that he supports the measure. This is sure to end at the Supreme Court. But we'll start that debate next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back.

We're interactive and Sarah Catherine (ph) is watching our newscast today once again. And she's excited about this next segment that we're going to be talking about. In fact, she says to us, on MySpace, sent us this note: "I'm excited to talk about the ultrasound debate."

All right, let's get into it.

Here's some video. The first thing I want to do is I want to show you what an ultrasound looks like.

This is -- they also call them sonograms, right?

After having four children, I'm very familiar with these. You get to actually see your child before it's born. Some people choose to know whether it's a boy or a girl.

In Texas, they are proposing a law supported by Rick Perry. And this bill will introduce this law that says a woman, before having an abortion, has to be shown these pictures. She has to look at these pictures. She's mandated to do so before she can have an abortion.

Obviously, it is a question that's going to make a lot of people on both sides of this issue look at it and say, hmmm, not sure.

So let's get two people on both sides of this issue.

Let me introduce you first to Elizabeth Graham. She is an anti- abortion activist who is good enough to join us.

And Jeffrey Hons, who says he supports a woman's right to have an abortion.

Elizabeth, a real simple question here, what if the woman says, I'm closing my eyes, I don't want to look at it?

ELIZABETH GRAHAM, TEXAS RIGHT TO LIFE: Great to be with you, Rick.

And thanks for that question because those who would read the bill will recognize, at the end of the bill, there is an opt out option for the woman. So the onus is on the physician to provide this vital piece of informed consent -- the ultrasound for a woman. But the woman does not have to look at the screen and she can choose not to receive the information.

SANCHEZ: That seems...

GRAHAM: Sixteen other states...

SANCHEZ: That seems fair, Jeffrey. I mean all they're saying is look, here's an option for you. And by the way, doctors -- or the lady who's having the abortion or proposing to have an abortion -- you don't have to look at this if you don't want.

What say you?

JEFFREY HONS, PLANNED PARENTHOOD TRUST OF SAN ANTONIO: Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be here.

If you read the bill in its detail, there's an awful lot of language that you move through before you get to the place where she can quote opt out. And what I find really disturbing about the bill is that instead of trying to reduce the incidence of abortion and bring prevention to people, the bill is trying to invade the doctor/patient relationship in a way that we don't see in any other medical procedure.

SANCHEZ: How so?

How is it invading the doctor/patient relationship?

I mean aren't patients and doctors supposed to have conversations?

HONS: Well, yes, they do. And I think what's interesting in this bill is that it lays out step by step exactly what a doctor must say and do. And when you think about the way that medicine is practiced, not just in Texas, but in the other states, as well, we have medical licensure and state boards of medicine who monitor and ensure the way in which medicine is provided.

And on this particular issue, different from everything else, this is the one thing where we're going to actually give scripts and give step by step instructions.

SANCHEZ: Well, Elizabeth, how about that?

Is that placing undue pressure on a woman?

In other words, you know, a doctor is someone she's going to look up to and suddenly he's telling her something that might not make her not do what she wants to do?

It seems to be what Jeffrey's implying here.

Do you agree that's a problem?

GRAHAM: He -- that is not a problem. Any information that can be given to a woman before she finalizes her decision about continuing a pregnancy is considered informed consent. No surgery is ever done on an abdomen without an ultrasound. A doctor must look and see what's going on in there -- whether it's a kidney, a liver or a pancreas procedure. And it should be the same -- abortion should meet the same medical standards as with any other procedure.

Additionally, very few women who undergo abortions have an established relationship with the abortion doctor. Many times, the women are already sedated, the doctor comes in, does the procedure and they rarely meet the doctor or have a relationship with the doctor. And even Planned Parenthood -- America's largest abortion providers -- have acknowledged that as one of the weaknesses of the abortion industry.

SANCHEZ: My thanks to both of you for being with us.

We're going to continue to follow this situation in Texas, this bill, this legislation.

GRAHAM: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: And hopefully we'll get you both back as it proceeds.

My thanks once again.

GRAHAM: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: The president of the United States is scheduled to speak at any moment now. We've been checking the picture. Let's see if we can put that up again. There's a shot of the White House. As soon as it happens, we're going to be taking you to it. Those doors are going to be opening on your left. And if they do during this next commercial, we'll let you see it live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: The debate we just presented about whether a woman who wants to have an abortion should look at her sonograms has gotten a lot of reaction from us on both Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. We'll start with Twitter. Here's one comment: "It is a life. I think it's worth a look."

Here's the other side of the argument.

Let's go over to MySpace: "That's ridiculous. Can we show Texas jurors pictures of dead bodies before they decide the death penalty? Or maybe we could show pictures of obese people and damaged hearts at fast food restaurants? What a gross invasion of personal choice."

Your comments, our stories -- we'll keep putting them together for you.

Here's this -- some more pictures I want to show you now -- cold water, seriously cold water.

You know those shows, speaking of The Discovery Channel -- it's called "The Deadliest Catch?"

Well, that's one of those boats in "The Deadliest Catch" episodes that you often see. It's the Icy Mist off of Alaska's Aleutian Islands in the Bering Sea. The boat is aground, we understand now. Four men are still stranded.

Can you imagine being in those conditions?

It's almost near the North Pole and hurricane force winds are keeping rescue aircraft away -- not able to join to see if they can help find those four men. The Coast Guard is worried that the boat will start to break apart. We'll watch it.

This is Northern California. Surf's up -- a little bit too up. This is Carmel Rock. It's a strong rip current that took this teenager and his board -- surf board -- far away from shore. Here comes the Coast Guard, doing what they do best. And the day is saved. Nobody hurt. And I guess a lesson is learned.

Yes, like the beach is that away.

All right. The president is going to speaking any moment now. He was expected to speak a little while ago. As a matter of fact, we were expecting he probably would have come out by now. He still hasn't.

So let's do this. Let's see if we can sneak in another break. When we come back, the president expected to address the nation once again during this hour.

Stay with us. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Let me take you now to the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House. There is the president of the United States coming out now to address the situation in our nation once again.

Let's listen in.

OBAMA: This afternoon, I met with members of my economic team and some key leaders in Congress to discuss the threats to our financial markets in this new century and how we must transform our regulatory system to meet them.

In recent months, we've seen turmoil on Wall Street like we haven't seen in decades. Major financial institutions have faltered or have been sold off. And we have seen the fallout on Main Street, as the market crisis became a credit crisis and families struggled to get loans to buy a home or a car, to start a small business or to pay for college.

This financial crisis was not inevitable. It happened when Wall Street wrongly presumed the markets would continuously rise and traded in complex financial products without fully evaluating their risk.

Here in Washington, our regulations lagged behind changes in our markets and too often regulators failed to use the authority that they had to protect consumers, markets and the economy.

We now know, from painful experience, that we can no longer sustain 21 -- 21st century markets with 20th century regulations and that while free markets are the key to our progress, they do not give us free license to take whatever we can get however we can get it.

And let me be clear. The choice we face is not between some oppressive government-run economy or a chaotic and unforgiving capitalism. Rather, strong financial markets require clear rules of the road, not to hinder financial institutions, but to protect consumers and investors and ultimately to keep those financial institutions strong. Not to stifle, but to advance competition, growth and prosperity. And not just to manage crises, but to prevent crises from happening in the first place by restoring accountability, transparency and trust in our financial markets. These must be the goals of a 21st century regulatory framework that we seek to create.

Our meeting today was a critical first step in developing that framework. And I'm grateful for the legislative leaders to join me here with Secretary Geithner and Dr. Summers. We had a terrific conversation. I think this is an area where there is a growing consensus and where I think the capacity for people from different political parties and different perspectives to come together and solve problems.

I've asked my economic team to develop recommendations for regulatory reform and then to collaborate with these members of Congress and others, from both sides of the aisle, so they can start crafting legislation in the coming weeks and months. We will not always see eye to eye in our work. We may disagree and even disagree strongly about particular provisions. But there are certain core principles that I believe must shape any proposal for reform and these are the principles that will guide our work.

First, financial institutions that pose serious risks -- systemic risks to our markets -- should be subject to serious oversight by the government. And here's why. When the Federal Reserve steps in as a lender of last resort -- which it's had to do repeatedly since this financial crisis began -- it's providing an insurance policy underwritten by the American taxpayer.